Quick-release aerator for introducing high pressure air into a container to facilitate dispensing

ABSTRACT

A container chargeable with a relatively large volume of air under significant pressure and including quick-release valve means for rapidly discharging the container via a self-contained tubular outlet for suddenly releasing energy into a receptacle for the purpose of accelerating the flow of granular and like materials.

United States Patent [191 Matson [54] QUICK-RELEASE AERATOR FORINTRODUCING HIGH PRESSURE AIR INTO A CONTAINER TO FACILITATE DISPENSING[75] Inventor: Carl G. Matson, Kawanee, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Martin Engineering Company,

Neponset, 111.

[22] Filed: Jan. 2 2, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 325,519

[52] US. Cl. 222/195, 222/389 [51] Int. Cl.....l B65g 3/12 [58] Field ofSearch... 222/189, 196, 195, 334, 389,

Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Assistant Examiner-James M.Slattery Attorney, Agent, or FirmI-larold M. Knoth [57] ABSTRACT I Acontainer chargeable with a relatively large volume of air undersignificant pressure and including quickrelease valve means for rapidlydischarging the container via a self-contained tubular outlet forsuddenly releasing energy into a receptacle for the purpose of [56]References Cited 5 accelerating the flow of granular and like materials.

UNITED STATES PATENTS I 3,169,676 2/19 65 Hanselmann 222/3 x 10 Claims,3 Drawing Figures 66 7 /4 w fi g 2 A L H 62 6 t I 46 1 QUICK-RELEASEAERATOR FOR INTRODUCING HIGH PRESSURE AIR INTO A CONTAINER TO FACILITATE DISPENSING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The storage of granularand like materials in bins, silos, etc., creates many problems,particularly in the discharge of such materials after prolonged storage,because the material has a tendency to hang up and refuse to flow. Theseproblems can be solved to some ex tent by the use of vibrators and othermechanical means but these have been found to be costly and apt to causestructural damage to the bin, silo, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 7 According to the present invention, there isprovided a quick-release aerator that stores a large volume of air undersignificant pressure and then releases the air instantaneously into thestorage receptacle, producing substantially the equivalent of a dullexplosion that causes even the most stubborn material to flow freely. Itis a feature of the invention that the aerator can be constructed simplyand inexpensively. It has only one moving part; e.g., a simple valve. Ituses compressed air and is easily. controlled and it lends itselfwell'to multiple installations, having regard especially to the factthat the aerator can be charged by a relatively small compressor.Installation is simple, requiring only that the silo, bin, etc. beprovided with one opening per aerator, and a flange on the aerator tubecan be easily field-welded to thesilo etc., with the tube entering-theopeningto conduct the sudden release of energy di- I rectly into thegrain or other material. Standard size tubing may be used to constructthe aerator.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of theaerator.

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. Sis a schematic viewillustrating the use of the aerator.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The aerator has a shell-likecontainer 10 including a peripheral wall '12 and first and secondopposite end walls 14 and 16. Preferably the container is circular; inthe present example, it has a length of 22 inches and a diameter of 12inches. The first end wall 14 has an air inlet opening 18 (to bedescribed in greater detail later) and the second end wall has a centralcircular aperture An elongated tube 22-, preferably circular incrosssection, extends through the aperture 20 and is welded in place inkeeping with the air-tight nature of the structure. This tube has anouter terminal discharge end 24 and an inner terminal end 26 spacedaxially fromthe end wall 14 by a cylinder 28. The container 10 is ofrelatively large volume, and the tube 22 is of substantially smallerdiameter. In the present example, thediameter of the tube is aboutone-third that of the container. The cylinder 28 has a slightly largerdiame ter than the tube and its end proximate to the inner terminal endof the tube is related to the tube in somewhat overlapping relationshipto provide an annular space, which space provides air passage means 30.For structural rigidity, the two end portions of the tube and cylinderare secured together, as by welding, by means of a plurality of spacermeans 32 (FIG. 2).

The end of the cylinder 28 that lies proximate to the first end wall 14.of the container is welded concentrically to that end wall and is itselfclosed by a cap 34 sealed to the interior of the cylinder by annularseal means 36. A snap ring 38 and a pair of cap screws 40 complete thisend of the assembly. The cap is centrally tapped to provide the airinlet means 18.

The outer terminal end of the tube 22 has means for mounting the aeratorto a receptacle, such as a silo 42 (FIG. 3). This means here takes theform of a steel flange 44 welded to the tube 22. In practice, an openingis cut in the silo wall, the tube inserted and the flange 44 welded tothe silo wall. A quick-release three-way valve of conventional design isprovided at 46 to connect the air inlet opening 18 to a supply line 48of an air compressor 50. The valve 46 may be solenoidoperated for remotecontrol and is here shown as equipped with a conventional muffler 52.

A simple piston 54 controls the communication of air among the cylinder,container and tube 22. This piston preferably first loosely within thecylinder and has an annular seal means, such as an O-ring 56 forcontrolling air port means 58 in the cylinder wall. The radial face ofthe piston that is disposed toward the inner terminal end 26 of the tube22 has elastomer seat means in the form of a ring 60 adapted to seat onthe tube end 26. An elastomer bumper 62 is provided on the inside faceof the cap 34 to absorb rebound shocks of the piston 54 as container airis discharged through the tube 22.

In the position of the piston as shown, the air port means 58 are closedby the O-ring 56 and the seat 60 is spaced away from the tube end' 26.When the cylinder is charged via the air inlet means 18 and valve 46,the piston moves to the right, causing the seat 60 to seat on the tubeend 26 and thus to close the tube against communication of air from thecontainer. At the same time, the O-ring 56 moves past the air port means58, allowing cylinder air to flow into the container, whereapproximately 9'cubic feet of air are accumulated at about 90 pounds persquare inch. So long as the piston remains to the right under compressorpressure, no air can escape from the container to the tube 22.

When, however, the valve 46 is opened, the piston moves quickly to theleft under pressure from the container flowing through the air passagemeans 30, because there is no longer any pressure holding the piston tothe right. This sudden release of air from the container is exhaustedrapidly through the tube and into the silo, etc.

This process is repeated as often as is necessary. Where severalaerators are installed on a single receptacle, silo, bin, etc., manytypes of controls are available; e.g., timers, sequence switches, etc.Several aerators may be connected to discharge at once.

Because the device has only one moving part, maintenance is simple. Thecap 34 may be easily removed for access to the piston.

opening and the second end wall having an aperture, a

tube of substantially smaller cross-section than the container andfitted within the aperture and having an outer terminal end exteriorlyof the container and an inner terminal end within the container andspaced from the first end wall, said outer terminal end being adapted tocommunicate directly with the contents of a receptacle containing suchmaterial, a hollow cylinder also of substantially smaller cross-sectionthan the container but of slightly larger diameter than the tube andsecured to the first end wall in communication with the air inletopening and extending toward and loosely concentric with the innerterminal end of the tube so as to provide air passage means between thecontainer and the tube, said cylinder having air port means spaced fromthe inner terminal end of the tube toward said first end wall to providecommunication between the cylinder and the container, a piston havingport control means and passage control means and movable back and forthin the cylinder between a first position spaced away from the innerterminal end of the tube so as to open the air passage means and toclose the air port means and a second position opening the air portmeans and closing the air passage means, said piston being movable fromits first position to its second position via air under pressure throughthe air inlet opening whereby to charge the container with air via theair port means and said piston being returnable to its first positionvia a combination of release of air through said air inlet opening andair under pressure from the container flowing rapidly through the airpassage means for discharge through the outer terminal end of the tubeand into the receptacle.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the cylinder axiallyoverlaps the inner terminal end of the tube and means is provided tosecure the tube and cylinder rigidly together in annularly spacedrelation, said means including openings providing said air passagemeans.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the port control means isan annular seal means carried by the piston.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the passage control meansis an elastomer seat means carried by the radial face of the piston thatfaces toward and seats on the inner terminal end of the tube.

5. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the port control means isan annular seal carried by the piston and the passage control means isan elastomer seat carried by the radial face of the piston that facestoward and seats on the inner terminal end of the tube.

6. The invention defined in claim 1, including flange means carried by aportion of the tube exteriorly of the container for welding to a metalreceptacle.

7. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the container, tube andcylinder are circular in cross-section and are concentrically arranged.

8. The invention defined in claim 1, in which elastomer bumper means isprovided within the cylinder adjacent to the first end wall to absorbrebound shocks of the piston when the piston returns to its firstposition.

9. A quick-release aerator for facilitating the flow of granular andlike material, comprising a relatively large-volume container, a tube ofsubstantially smaller cross-section than the container and projectingthrough a wall of the container so as to have an inner terminal endwithin the container and an outer terminal end exteriorly of thecontainer, said outer terminal end being adapted to communicate directlywith the contents of a receptacle containing such material, saidcontainer having air inlet means adjacent to the inner terminal end ofthe tube, valve means within the container and cooperative with the airinlet means and the inner terminal end of the tube and responsive tovariations in air inlet pressure for selectively connecting the airinlet means to the container while closing the inner terminal end of thetube so as to charge the container exclusively of the tube and foropening the inner terminal end of the tube while closing the air inletmeans to allow rapid escape of container air through the outer terminalend of the tube and into the receptacle.

10. The invention defined in claim 9 in which the valve means includes acylinder and piston means associated with the inner terminal end of thetube.

1. A quick-release aerator for facilitating the flow of granular andlike material, comprising an air-tight container having a peripheralwall and first and second opposite end walls, said first end wall havingan air inlet opening and the second end wall having an aperture, a tubeof substantially smaller crosssection than the container and fittedwithin the aperture and having an outer terminal end exteriorly of thecontainer and an inner terminal end within the container and spaced fromthe first end wall, said outer terminal end being adapted to communicatedirectly with the contents of a receptacle containing such material, ahollow cylinder also of substantially smaller crosssection than thecontainer but of slightly larger diameter than the tube and secured tothe first end wall in communication with the air inlet opening andextending toward and loosely concentric with the inner terminal end ofthe tube so as to provide air passage meAns between the container andthe tube, said cylinder having air port means spaced from the innerterminal end of the tube toward said first end wall to providecommunication between the cylinder and the container, a piston havingport control means and passage control means and movable back and forthin the cylinder between a first position spaced away from the innerterminal end of the tube so as to open the air passage means and toclose the air port means and a second position opening the air portmeans and closing the air passage means, said piston being movable fromits first position to its second position via air under pressure throughthe air inlet opening whereby to charge the container with air via theair port means and said piston being returnable to its first positionvia a combination of release of air through said air inlet opening andair under pressure from the container flowing rapidly through the airpassage means for discharge through the outer terminal end of the tubeand into the receptacle.
 2. The invention defined in claim 1, in whichthe cylinder axially overlaps the inner terminal end of the tube andmeans is provided to secure the tube and cylinder rigidly together inannularly spaced relation, said means including openings providing saidair passage means.
 3. The invention defined in claim 1, in which theport control means is an annular seal means carried by the piston. 4.The invention defined in claim 1, in which the passage control means isan elastomer seat means carried by the radial face of the piston thatfaces toward and seats on the inner terminal end of the tube.
 5. Theinvention defined in claim 1, in which the port control means is anannular seal carried by the piston and the passage control means is anelastomer seat carried by the radial face of the piston that facestoward and seats on the inner terminal end of the tube.
 6. The inventiondefined in claim 1, including flange means carried by a portion of thetube exteriorly of the container for welding to a metal receptacle. 7.The invention defined in claim 1, in which the container, tube andcylinder are circular in cross-section and are concentrically arranged.8. The invention defined in claim 1, in which elastomer bumper means isprovided within the cylinder adjacent to the first end wall to absorbrebound shocks of the piston when the piston returns to its firstposition.
 9. A quick-release aerator for facilitating the flow ofgranular and like material, comprising a relatively large-volumecontainer, a tube of substantially smaller cross-section than thecontainer and projecting through a wall of the container so as to havean inner terminal end within the container and an outer terminal endexteriorly of the container, said outer terminal end being adapted tocommunicate directly with the contents of a receptacle containing suchmaterial, said container having air inlet means adjacent to the innerterminal end of the tube, valve means within the container andcooperative with the air inlet means and the inner terminal end of thetube and responsive to variations in air inlet pressure for selectivelyconnecting the air inlet means to the container while closing the innerterminal end of the tube so as to charge the container exclusively ofthe tube and for opening the inner terminal end of the tube whileclosing the air inlet means to allow rapid escape of container airthrough the outer terminal end of the tube and into the receptacle. 10.The invention defined in claim 9 in which the valve means includes acylinder and piston means associated with the inner terminal end of thetube.